The Research Of Intellectuals In The Process Of Iranian Modernization(1905-2005)

With the introduction of western culture and the establishment of new schools, the intellectuals, as an emerging social class, revealed its importance for the first time in Iran. The emerging intellectuals come from the traditional society; most of them come from the families of bureaucratic, landlord, merchant, artisan and cleric. Although different sources, they share the similar ideological trend undoubtedly. They favor the modern western culture especially advocate the political ideas of the French enlightenment. They consider that the history is neither the embodiment of the will of God, nor the dynasties in cycles, but the time-continuing process of human progress. In their opinion, there are three obstacles in the progress of human history:the autocratic monarchy exclude the principle of freedom, equality and love, the religious constrictions restrain the thinking of reason and science, foreign slavery astrict the development of the economic and social, but the constitutionalism, secularism and nationalism, in other word, to overthrow the autocratic monarchy, eliminate the conservative ideas of traditional clerics, end the colonial rule of western powers is the only road toward the modern social in Iran. The intellectuals in Iran consider the root of the backward is that the rule of autocratic monarchy impedes the development of social. They advocated constraining the power of monarch through establishing a parliament and drawing up a constitution, this idea laid the important theoretical basis for the upcoming movement. In the constitutional movement1905-1911, the intellectuals came upon the stage for the first time. They had gained periodical success by working with ’ulama:The promulgation of the first constitution in Iran, and the opening of the parliament. But there are fundamental differences between the modern secular law which they appeal for and the traditional shari’ah law which’ulama maintained, which leads to go their separate ways in the revolutionary ranks.If the nationalism and constitutionalism occupy the mainstream of intellectual discourse in the end of the19th century and in the early of the20th century in Iran, since the1920s, especially the1940s and1950s, socialism become the main idea of the intellectuals’ideology during this period. They Committed to called on people to unite to oppose the autocracy of Reza khan and the fascism in the world by establishing the Tudeh Party of Iran. In the early of1950s, the Tudeh Party of Iran allied with the nationalist movement led by Mohammad Mossadegh to promote the oil nationalization movement. Though it failed because of the coup in1953,it has a far-reaching influence in the process of modernization in Iran.In fact, the decline of constitutionalism, socialism, and nationalism laid the important foundation for the rise of the upcoming Islamism. The intellectuals represented by Jalal Al-ahmad proposed the’Gharbzadegi’to against the westernization policy of the pahlavi regime. They advocated returning to the real Islam. During this period, nativism is prevailing. On this basis, the intellectuals represented by Ali Shariati insisted to explore the political potential of Islam, and launch a revolution movement to overthrow the rule of the autocratic monarchy. If Shariati is the founder of the political Islam, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini is the practitioner of this theory. In the Islamic Revolution1977-1979, Khomeini led all circles of church-state to establish a broad coalition, and overthrew the monarchy rule of2500years. He established the Velayat-e Faqih on the base of his theory of ’Islamic government’.After the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the policy of Islamization resulted in the continuing decline of secular intellectuals. At the same time, there is a divergence about the theory and practice of Velayat-e Faqih in the community of ’ulama. With the end of the Iran-Iraq war and the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the conflict between democracy and dictatorship which covered by ethnic tensions highlights day by day. The new religious intellectuals represented by Soroush began to question the religious legitimacy of Velayat-e Faqih. They asserted religious pluralism and political secularism, appealed to freedom and democracy, which provides an important theoretical support for the reform movement in Iran.